YouTube are introducing new Bumper ads that are only 6 seconds long to make watchable, unobtrusive ads.

Ads on YouTube are a contested issue – they need to be there to provide income to creators but they can be obnoxious. I’m sure a lot of you have had to sit through a 30 second ad to watch a video of not much longer. The problem with making ads skippable 5 seconds in is, who is going to carry on watching an advert given the chance to just not?

That’s why YouTube are introducing Bumper ads. These 6 second clips are only a second longer than you’d normally be required to sit through but provide a complete advert, so you’re seeing everything the advertiser wants you to see. It’s a win-win.

Revealed by Zach Lupei in a blog post, Google’s Product Manager, the ads will start appearing in May and work best with TrueView. Lupei said in the post: “Bumper ads are ideal for driving incremental reach and frequency, especially on mobile, where “snackable videos” perform well.”

Bumper ads
TrueView is Google’s primary format for YouTube ads

Google have tested Bumper ads with a few different brands, one of which was Atlantic Records who utilised the new format for the launch of Rudimental’s second album. Senior Marketing Manager of Atlantic Records/Warner Music Group , Fiona Byers said: “TrueView and Bumpers were a really important part of the recent Rudimental campaign to tell the story of the band’s second album. Through cost-efficient bumpers we could really showcase the plethora of legendary guests features on the record. They each gave a short sharp insight into a featured artist and individual track on the album with TrueView providing the fuller story around the album and the band. When used in conjunction, TrueView plus Bumpers really work more effectively than either format on its own.”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0llZBNx8pL4?rel=0&w=640&h=360]

It will be interesting to see the reaction to Bumper ads but it seems like it’s a big plus for advertisers whilst not affecting viewers, if anything it’s a bonus to them (us) as well. Lupei closed of the post saying:

We like to think of Bumper ads as little haikus of video ads – and we’re excited to see what the creative community will do with them. You can use Bumpers beginning in May by talking to your Google sales representative, and stay tuned as we continue to roll out new ad formats that are uniquely adapted to the way people watch video now, and in the future.